A Truck Mystery
by Emory Lee
Summary: Sarah Lennox thinks there’s something strange about Will’s black truck. Ironhide isn’t too good at staying hidden. Ratchet’s no help either. Ironhide/Ratchet
1. Chapter 1

First attempt at a transformers fic. Would love suggestions for a better title!

Chapter 1

The morning after Will returned home, Sarah stared thoughtfully out the kitchen window at the truck in the driveway, her hands mindlessly scrubbing the dinner pots she'd neglected last night.

That truck was either some man's substitute for a severe inadequacy, or some rich man's play toy. From the custom smokestacks and the tow cable, to the expensive off road tires, someone had dumped some serious money into customizing it. Hell, even the running lights had been changed from the standard yellow to blue. It also looked like it was the latest design to roll off the assembly line, and though she hadn't looked inside yet, she was pretty sure it was as extravagant as the outside.

If that truck hadn't cost at least eighty grand, she wasn't an Army captain's wife. And speaking of Army captains, Sarah couldn't wait to hear the story on how Will had managed to borrow it. Or, for that matter, just who he had borrowed it from.

Steps lightly thudded down the stairs followed by Will entering the kitchen with Annabelle fussing in his arms.

Will looked a little harried. "She's harder to dress than I thought," he said, tugging ineffectively at Annabelle's shirt as she squirmed.

Sarah laughed at him as she rinsed another pot. "Get her in the highchair, she's cranky cause her breakfast is late."

"First things first," Will said and leaned close, giving her a quick kiss then playfully rubbing his stubbled cheek against hers.

"Will!" Sarah twisted away and flicked dishwater at him, grinning. He moved to retaliate, but Annabelle decided she'd had enough and began to cry.

Will looked at her helplessly and Sarah abandoned the dishes to show him how to feed his daughter breakfast.

* * *

Hours later, after Annabelle had been put down for a nap and a detour had been made by the master bedroom for a fun repeat of last night, Sarah returned to her dishes. Will followed her into the kitchen and raided the freezer, pulling out all five cartons of ice cream.

Sarah arched an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He helped himself to a scoop from each, hovering protectively over the cartons. "I haven't had good ice cream since I left."

"Finish off the butter pecan, and you'll be wishing you were still gone," she warned, and drained the old dishwater out of the sink. While waiting for it to fill again, her eyes fell on the truck.

"Will, where'd you get the truck?"

"Huh?" he asked mindlessly, focused on putting the cartons away.

"The truck," Sarah repeated, pointing a finger helpfully when he finally looked at her. "And why didn't you put it in the garage?"

Frowning, Will grabbed his ice cream and joined her at the kitchen sink. He stared at the truck, clearly shocked.

"Will?"

"Uh," Will's eyes darted briefly to her then back to the truck. "I didn't think he was staying."

"Staying? Someone was supposed to pick it up?" Sarah asked as she tackled the dishes again.

"Yeah," Will said slowly, then finally started on his bowl of ice cream, eyes glued to the truck.

"Who's it belong to?"

"Will's face took on that slightly pinched look that it always did when he was trying to figure out a way to skirt around an answer without actually lying.

"Will," she said, exasperated. "It's not like the thing is top secret."

Will's eyes widened comically and he barely managed to choke down his mouthful of ice cream.

"The truck is classified." Sarah stared at him in disbelief. "How can a truck be classified?"

"Sarah honey, believe me I'd tell you if I could, but that truck-" he took a deep breath, "that truck is out of this world."

"Uh, huh," Sarah said, and went back to her dishes. If he didn't want to tell her, fine. She'd find out eventually. She always did.

* * *

Will was home only a few days before receiving orders to report to the base. He couldn't tell her anything, other than this was the biggest assignment of his career; so she tried not to be too unhappy when Epps picked him up. She did frown at the truck after they left, wondering why Will hitched a ride and left it home when he seemed to be so attached to it. He had found a reason to be outside by the truck several times everyday, much to her bewilderment.

* * *

The first clue Sarah had that there was something strange about the truck was when her car refused to start. She carried Annabelle back into the house to finish her nap inside, then returned to poke around under the hood. She soon exhausted her limited automotive knowledge; the battery was less than four months old and she hadn't done something stupid like forgetting to fill up the gas tank, or not checking the oil regularly.

Giving up, she eyeballed the truck setting on its side of the driveway. She'd never driven a truck that big before, but she had driven a small one in college. She could handle it.

The truck loomed threateningly.

Oh, she was so doomed. It was the size of a tank! Sarah took a deep breath and gathered her courage. Annabelle needed diapers and with Will home the past week, she needed groceries. There was nothing for it.

Besides, Will had left the keys in the key basket. Top secret truck or not, she was going to take that as permission to drive it.

Sarah did a quick check on Annabelle then spent a few frustrating minutes wrestling the car seat free of her car. If that truck was going to be here a while, it would probably be easier just to get a second seat.

She carried the car seat to the truck's rear passenger door, her steps slowing as she approached. It was taller than she'd thought; the truck's side mirror was inches above her head.

It had to be done, she reminded herself, and pulled the keys out, pushing the unlock button on the remote.

Nothing happened.

Frowning, Sarah pressed it again.

After a noticeable pause, the truck unlocked.

Sarah gave the remote a shake; batteries must be going dead, and reached for the door handle.

The truck locked itself.

Sarah blinked. Huh. She pushed the button again; the doors unlocked, then immediately relocked. What the hell?

She tried the remote again, with the same result. "Oh, for Pete's sake," she said under her breath. First her car, now the truck.

Sarah tried the keys next, only to run into a new problem. It wouldn't turn in the lock.

She snapped. "Damn it, you big black beast! I don't have time for this today!" She slapped the door in frustration.

The truck gave a startled, alarm like chirp and the doors unlocked. Sarah eyed it warily, then tried the keys and the remote again. Both worked perfectly. She sighed. Hopefully it was just some sort of systems glitch. Vehicles nowadays seemed to have more computer parts that automotive. She wrestled the car seat into place, then headed inside to get Annabelle.

As she went inside, for a brief second she almost thought that she heard the truck make a low grumbling sound of complaint. She shook her head; the summer heat must be getting to her.

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

**caz, Zendelxex, blood shifter, Sin-Skyeon, altern, Toa Karou, varsitylove16 and mallory-nicole**: Thanks for the reviews guys, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Happy Valentines!

***

**Chapter 2**

***

The trip to the grocery store was a little nerve wracking, but ultimately uneventful. Sarah had to keep reminding herself to make her turns wider so she didn't clip a curb and to allow more room to stop.

The truck handled beautifully, and by the time Sarah was finished with the shopping, her day seemed like it was on a more even keel. She loaded the groceries into the truck and strapped Annabelle in with only a little difficulty. It was incredibly awkward to have to climb up into such a big vehicle.

"Okay, Beast," she told the truck as she stuck the key in the ignition, "we got here in one piece; let's get home without any problems. Alright?"

Right.

Her route home took her by the college campus. Students made their way along and across the busy street, caught up in the daze of finals and papers in the last two weeks of school. Several waited at the crosswalk of the intersection for a green light to cross. Sarah found her gaze turning to the left as she approached the intersection, her attention caught by a group of boys roughhousing.

She never saw the distracted boy on the right who stepped out into traffic.

The steering wheel jerked in her hands and rubber squealed as the truck slammed on its brakes. Sarah screamed as it jerked to a stop, staring at the terrified student inches in front of the truck. She could barely see his head over the truck's hood; he had a music earphone hanging out of one ear and his hand still held a cell to his other ear.

Sarah suddenly became aware of Annabelle crying in the back seat and the sound of horns blaring behind her.

The boy got himself together and started to give her the finger, but took a second look at his situation and decided that retreat was the better option. He quickly headed for the sidewalk.

Shaken, Sarah hesitantly pressed on the gas pedal, suddenly realizing that she hadn't touched the brake at all. The truck moved forward obediently and she managed to steer it into an empty parking lot, Annabelle crying louder in the back.

"It's okay, it's okay," she said, her hands trembling violently as she parked the truck and turned it off. "Mommy's here, I'm coming."

Sarah crawled over the front seat into the back, anxious to get to her daughter. She fumbled her free of the baby seat and climbed out of the truck, her legs weak and threatening to give out under her.

For half an hour, Sarah stood in that parking lot and reassured Annabelle, her eyes never leaving the truck that had somehow saved her from accidentally killing that boy.

***

Sarah eventually managed to gather her courage and drove the truck home, hyper alert for any sign of the truck taking control again. Nothing happened, and by the time she had the groceries unloaded and was feeding Annabelle, she almost had herself convinced that she must have merely stumbled on the reason why the truck was classified. It had to have some sort of advanced computer system in it to help avoid collisions.

That thought didn't stop her from leaving a message on Will's cell phone and telling him that he had some explaining to do.

***

That night, Sarah dreamed she heard laughter. A male's voice, delighted and genuinely amused, it teased another voice which was gruff and a tad embarrassed. The two bantered back and forth, their words friendly sparring.

'Old friends,' Sarah thought sleepily, 'old, very good friends.'

It was a good dream and she basked in it until the chirrup of an emergency vehicle's sirens jerked her fully awake.

She scrambled to the bedroom window, nearly tripping in the tangled bed sheets. A search and rescue vehicle was in her driveway. Sarah stared at it blankly for a moment, then dashed for the stairs. Her rush for the front door earned her a stubbed toe and by the time she got outside, the search and rescue vehicle was pulling out of the driveway and onto the old dirt road that lead to the property.

"Hey!" Sarah yelled, but the driver kept going and she found herself blinking in the sudden darkness. What was he doing in her driveway? Was he lost or looking for someone? If he was looking for someone, why not come to the house? The property was fairly isolated; people usually didn't show up unless they intended to.

Bewildered, Sarah ran a hand through her tangled hair and looked around. Nothing had been touched or moved, though the truck looked different, like it was farther from the garage door than she had remembered.

No...it had to be a trick of the moonlight. Trucks didn't just move, and even if this one was an exception, she hadn't heard the big engine start up. That kind of noise would have woken her for sure.

She started back for the house, but paused when something in the truck's shadow caught her eye. It was the car seat.

The car seat she had left strapped inside the truck. Hadn't she? Or had she been so thoroughly rattled earlier from the near hit that she had pulled it out without remembering? Had the search and rescue driver been digging around in the truck? Sarah tested the doors of the truck; they were all locked.

Unsettled, Sarah put the car seat in the garage and hurried back into the house. She set the alarm system she never used, then grabbed Will's baseball bat and did a quick check of the house, making sure it was as empty as it was supposed to be. And after all that, still uneasy, she grabbed Annabelle and locked them both in the master bedroom.

Dawn was a long time in coming.

***

By morning, Sarah was exhausted and more than a little strung out over yesterday's strangeness. Whatever was going on, it all centered on the truck.

Will, bless his timing, finally called home. Sarah opened fire with both barrels and didn't bother with a warning shot.

"Classified?" she hissed, her voice rising into a shout. "I thought you were joking! What the hell is that truck Will? And why on earth did you bring it here?"

"Wait, wait," he said, at a complete loss. "What happened?" Will's voice was echoing some, like he was in an extremely large building. The phone picked up other voices in the background, talking animatedly.

"What happened?" Sarah yelled. "What happened is that the truck is not normal! Yesterday, some stupid kid at the college stepped into the road, and I didn't see him-" Her voice broke and Sarah suddenly found herself trying not to cry. "I would have hit him, Will! But the truck slammed on its breaks, the truck, not me! And that wasn't the only thing. Last night-"

"Whoa, hold on Sarah," Will interrupted. "Just take a deep breath for me, okay?"

"But, Will-"

"Sarah, please!" Will said firmly.

Sarah shakily complied, using the back of her hand to wipe away the tears that were trying to get the better of her. The voices in the background of Will's phone erupted in laughter and she heard a young, boyish voice yelling incredulously, "Wait! You had to get what out of Ironhide's backseat?"

"First, are you and Annabelle okay?" Will asked, his voice drowning out the background voices again.

"Yes, we're fine."

"The truck is still there, right?"

Sarah looked out the kitchen window at the truck. It looked like it was still in the same spot from last night. Maybe. "Yeah."

"Alright, I know this is a little scary, but I swear the truck will not hurt you. He really is classified, but with the way things are going here, I think he might be staying with us for a while. Things are a little nuts, but I'll do what I can to get them moving on getting you permission to be informed, okay?"

"Okay," she said quietly, wondering why a classified truck would be staying at her home of all places.

Will sighed. "Listen, I've gotta run, they're getting ready to get started here. Just remember, he won't hurt you. Hey!-" There were sounds of a scuffle and Sarah could hear Will yelling in the background as another voice suddenly came on the line.

"Hey, Mrs. Lennox!" Epps greeted her enthusiastically.

"Bobby," she said with a smile. "You giving Will a hard time?"

"Always ma'am, it keeps him sharp." There was more scuffling and Epps hollered, "Bee! Block him for a minute, will ya?"

Something heavy moved and she could hear Will trying to order someone to let him go. What on earth was going on over there?

"Sorry about that," Epps continued cheerfully. "Fig and I were talking and we've got a great idea, but Will's being a stick in the mud so we're doing a run around."

"Your funeral," she said. "But I'm listening."

"Remember that big barbeque you threw for us when we got shipped out last time?"

Oh, she remembered, alright. She remembered the planning and the shopping and the two straight days of cooking. She remembered the drunken games and the water fight that ended up inside the house and the ten foot bonfire in the back pasture that brought the firefighters out for a hello.

"I remember," she said.

"Any chance you'd consider doing it again?" he asked hopefully. "It's just – Fig and I've been talking about it and now the new guys are curious and it would do them a world of good to get away from this political B.S. for a while."

"New guys?"

"They're a little different, but good soldiers, all of 'em. You'll get to meet them at the party, if you're willing?"

Sarah sighed. Oh hell, why not. "Two conditions. I want your immortal soul in payment and your butt on cleanup detail."

Epps laughed. "All yours."

"Fig's too!"

"Done!" Epps said immediately. "Thanks Mrs. Lennox, we- oh, damn! Bee, you weren't supposed to let him go!"

Sarah could hear the sounds of Epps running, with Will yelling threats in the background. There was more laughter.

"One more thing," Epps got out in a rush. "Go say hi to that truck; he's gotta be getting bored silly by now."

What?!

There was more scuffling and Epps yelled "Catch!" There was a thump, a moan, and then Will came back on the line.

"Ignore him," Will said, irritated and breathless. "Sarah, you sure? Last time you said hell would freeze over before you put another one on."

"I know, I know," she said. "But after the last few weeks, I think we could all use a bit of fun."

"You're the greatest," Will said sincerely. "Okay, I've really got to run now, but I'll call as soon as I can on when they're going to give us some time off. Love you, bye!"

"Bye," she said absently to the now silent phone, her eyes narrowed in thought. Why on earth were Will and Bobby referring to the truck as 'he,' and more importantly, how could it be 'bored silly'?

tbc


	3. Chapter 3

thanks for the awesome reviews guys!

**blood shifter** - Pity him and laugh, I know I am! And Ratchet's about to make it worse...

**caz**-thanks! I had way too much fun writing that phone call.

**Kiashi Goldbeak 501**- The party's going to be awesome, especially as there's a few more bots showing up, like say a pair of twins and a certain tactician...

***

**Chapter 3**

***

Sarah busied herself with housework, putting aside the truck mystery. She attacked the ever growing pile of laundry, vacuumed the living room, and mopped the kitchen floor. In between all of this, she played with Annabelle, fed her, and put her down for a nap.

Then she indulged in the activity that always calmed her most: baking. She made banana nut bread and blueberry muffins, her grandmother's apple pie. She almost stopped there, but temptation was too great and she gave in, making a double batch of sugar cookies. All the food was a little excessive, but Sarah planned on donating most of it to the local church's bake sale. She wasn't religious, but a few of the ladies had come and waited with her when they had heard about Will's base being attacked. They'd helped her keep it together and this seemed like a good way to say thank you.

Annabelle woke while the sugar cookie dough was chilling in the fridge, so Sarah put her in the middle of the guestroom bed and hauled in the laundry to fold. Buck, a stray cat who had adopted the Lennox family when they moved in, joined them, burrowing through the clothes and purring loudly while he occasionally batted at a bra strap. Annabelle watched him with wide eyes and tried to grab the cat's fluffy tail, which he sensibly kept out of her reach.

Laundry done, a few cat hairs included, Sarah returned to the kitchen and set Annabelle in her high chair to watch while she rolled out the cookie dough and cut it into rocking horses. Trays of cookies went into the ovens, and Sarah was once again thankful that the wife of the previous owner had wanted two ovens in her kitchen.

While she waited for the cookies to bake, Sarah turned to the dishes. The truck was still in its spot and Sarah studied it while she worked.

Epps had told her to say hi to the truck, as if the truck could say hi right back. He'd said it must be bored silly, as if the truck had the emotions to care that it was stuck parked in the driveway. And Will, who had always referred to anything mechanical as she, kept using he.

Was the truck some sort of Knight Rider KITT car? Did it have an artificial intelligence? Emotions? Had the truck not 'wanted' her to put the car seat in it?

Oh God, she had slapped it. And she hadn't thanked it for preventing her from killing that boy... would that even matter to it?

Reeling from her thoughts, Sarah rescued the cookies from the ovens before they burned and moved them to the cooling racks. She'd decorate them tomorrow when she'd have time to do it properly.

There was a low rumble and Sarah looked out the window again, realizing that a storm was moving in. She turned on the television and flipped to the weather channel. They were predicting heavy rains with severe winds.

She looked at the truck, the expensive classified truck, sitting outside and left to the mercy of the elements. She sighed. Hell, time to get a closer look at it.

Sarah pulled Annabelle out of the highchair and headed for the garage, trying not to become nervous. Will swore the truck wouldn't hurt them, she reminded herself.

"Alright," she whispered to Annabelle as she waited for the garage door to open. "Never let it be said that we don't treat guests properly."

Annabelle cooed and stuck her fingers in her mouth.

"Yeah, thanks for the support," Sarah said, and stepped outside. The truck was still facing away from the garage door. Sarah paused a moment to stare at the stylized face on the tailgate -how could she have missed that- then headed for the front of the truck, figuring that talking to someone's rear end was probably rude no matter what you were.

She stopped at the front corner on the driver's side, leaving several feet between them while wondering what the personal space of a truck was.

Now, where to start? After a moment of feeling at a loss, Sarah decided to go with some basic courtesy. Her grandmother, a true southern woman, had always said that you'd never go wrong with good manners and a bit of common sense.

"We haven't been properly introduced," Sarah said, feeling like an idiot, "but I just wanted to say thanks for keeping me from hitting that boy, and I'm really sorry I slapped you yesterday..." Sarah trailed off. She was now blabbering like an idiot as well. She was going to kill Epps for putting this idea in her head. "Um, anyway, I'm Sarah and this is my daughter, Annabelle."

Sarah waited for a response, but the truck didn't respond. Either it couldn't talk or was refusing to. She wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed.

Time to see if it at least understood what she was saying. "News says there's a pretty bad storm blowing in. I know you can drive yourself, so I'm gonna leave the garage door open and you can get inside if you want."

Sarah waited again for a response of some type, but didn't get one. Okay, she thought to herself, talking to a truck, you're finally losing it girl.

She shifted Annabelle to her other arm. "So, I've got to go start dinner and I guess I'll, um, talk to you later," she finished lamely, and quickly retreated to the house.

Talk to the truck indeed. Thank god she didn't have any close neighbors; they'd think she was finally losing it.

***

Sarah went about her evening, glancing out the window whenever she found a spare second. The truck stayed where it was as the wind picked up speed and lightning lit up the sky. After a while, Sarah began to think that the truck could only drive itself under certain emergency conditions and that she probably needed to put it in the garage herself.

She had just pulled the casserole out of the oven when she heard the unmistakable sound of the truck's engine. Hurrying to the window, she watched with wide eyes as the truck slowly backed into the garage, its smokestacks just barely clearing the entrance.

"Well, damn," she said. Apparently, it understood something.

The rain began pouring down in earnest.

***

Sarah checked on the truck first thing the next morning. It had abandoned the garage for the large grassy area behind the house, staying well away from the apricot and plum trees where birds finished off the last fruits of the season. Two squabbling birds left the trees and landed on the truck's hood, scampering back and forth across the shiny metal.

The truck tolerated this for a few seconds, then shook itself, sending them back into the air, squawking in alarm.

Sarah stared; she hadn't thought a truck was capable of moving in that manner. "Unbelievable," she murmured, and went to get Annabelle out of bed.

***

Sarah was coloring icing for the sugar cookies when Will called on the house phone.

"Good news," he said happily. "They're giving us the next two weeks off."

"That's wonderful!"

"Sure is," Will agreed. There was a second's hesitation. "Epps and Fig have settled on a day for the party."

Sarah's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "When?"

"This Saturday, in the afternoon."

She froze for a second, then lunged for her cell phone, smearing icing on it as she flipped it open to double check the date.

"Will, that's tomorrow!"

"I know," he said. "But it could be months before everyone is available again and no one wanted to wait."

"I haven't bought anything yet!"

"And you're not going too. Epps and I are hitting the stores first thing tomorrow. We'll get everything then."

Slightly perturbed, Sarah added, "And you'll be doing all the cooking too."

"Alright."

"And Fig isn't allowed to help."

Will laughed. "Oh, he won't. He's still got his mind on barbequed gator. No telling what he might try to feed us."

"After the crickets last year, I don't want to even imagine." She shook her head. "So, how many people are you bringing?"

"Roughly thirty."

Sarah thought for a second. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't remove the picnic tables." The previous owners of the house had loved hosting get togethers and had left six picnic tables outback.

"Yeah. Listen, I've got one more thing. I'm bringing the classified paperwork tomorrow on Iron- uh, the truck. It also covers some of our other guests."

"This mean I finally get that explanation?"

"Yes. It's-" Will broke off as someone called for him. "Coming!" he yelled. "I've got to run. Give Annabelle a hug for me."

"I will. Get going."

"Love ya."

Sarah set the phone down, and went back to her icing. Finally, she was going to get some answers.

Thirty people; she had some more baking to do. Brownies and chocolate chip cookies always went down well.

***

That night, Sarah found herself woken from a sound sleep again. She frowned, trying to pinpoint what exactly had awoken her. The house was quiet inside, though the first light of early dawn was just starting to wake the birds in the tree outside her window.

The truck rumbled to life.

Now what?

Sarah headed to her bedroom window. The truck appeared from around the corner of the house. She blinked. It was in reverse, and backing towards the open, grassy area where Sarah planned on eventually putting a swing set for Annabelle.

The search and rescue vehicle from the other night followed it, seeming to stalk the truck. Its driver's seat was empty. Another one?

"Quit being a stubborn aft! You're not getting out of this!"

Sarah gasped. It talked!

"Quiet Ratchet!" the truck hissed. "You'll wake the humans."

"I'll wake everyone in the county if you don't quit stalling," Ratchet threatened.

The truck stopped, then revved its engine, sounding aggravated. Then the truck exploded into motion, pieces moving, twisting and shifting. Hands and feet appeared as tires flipped out of the way. A head quickly appeared as well. The robot – oh my god, the robot- straightened and crossed his arms.

"Happy?" he asked sarcastically.

"Ecstatic," Ratchet said, and transformed as well. This one seemed smaller than the truck, not quite as broad or tall.

Sarah's shaking knees finally gave out and she sunk to the floor, gripping the window sill. She had two giant, talking, shape shifting robots in her yard.

"On the ground, Ironhide," Ratchet ordered, his right hand shifting into some sort of machinery that looked like a drill.

"Ironhide," Sarah said quietly to herself. So the truck did have a name!

Ironhide stubbornly stayed where he was, but tilted his chin up, as if daring Ratchet to make him.

Ratchet dared. He charged, driving his shoulder into Ironhide's midsection while grabbing a leg at the knee and yanking up.

Ironhide struggled to keep his balance, but Ratchet kept shoving forward and both tumbled to the ground. The house shuddered slightly in response and Sarah froze, hoping Annabelle wouldn't wake up and draw attention to them. After a few tense seconds, Sarah relaxed as Annabelle kept quiet.

The two robots tussled for several moments before Ratchet managed to force Ironhide on his stomach and twist an arm behind the black robot's back. Then Ratchet slapped him upside the head.

"Ow! What the slag was that for?" Ironhide complained.

"For making my life difficult, you useless pile of scrap! Now hold still so I can finish this before the humans wake up."

Ironhide grumbled but submitted, laying his head on the ground and body going lax. Ratchet released his arm and set to work on his side, removing several pieces of black metal that Sarah was sure was some sort of armor. Underneath was a complex system of wires, metal, tubes, and circuitry that Ratchet set to work on.

Seeing that the robots didn't appear to be going anywhere for a while, Sarah scrambled for her cell and called Will. He answered, voice worried at the early morning call.

"Sarah? What's wrong?"

Sarah quickly decided that there was no way to say this without sounding nuts. "Does this classified paperwork I'm going to sign today have anything to do with two twenty foot robots named Ironhide and Ratchet?"

The phone was silent. "Shit!" Will finally said. "I'm going to kill them both!" Then he took a deep breath and told her how humanity had found itself in the middle of an alien race's war.

tbc


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks for the awesome reviews, you guys make me laugh. I'm glad that you're all enjoying this fic, it's been a lot of fun. I also want to apologize for the long wait, I was ten pages into chapter 4 when I realized that another plot bunny had it going in the wrong direction. I had to start it over again. Please enjoy!_

*******

**Chapter 4**

*******

Sarah stared out the window after she had finished talking to Will, watching Ratchet work on Ironhide's side. Whatever he was doing made the black robot squirm and occasionally laugh. Not robot, she corrected herself, but Autobot. As in sentient and intelligent life _not from earth_. She had aliens on her lawn.

As she watched, Ironhide carefully rolled onto his back, giving Ratchet room to work on an area towards his front. Ironhide watched the other work for a while, then lifted his hand and gently touched Ratchet's face.

"Love you," Ironhide said simply.

Ratchet's serious expression softened and he briefly nuzzled Ironhide's hand. "Love you too, you fragger," he said. "Now, let me finish before Will's mate wakes up and we scare her."

'Too late,' Sarah thought, belatedly realizing that Ratchet must have pulled the car seat out of Ironhide so he could change shape.

She watched them for a few more minutes, then did a quick check on the still sleeping Annabelle. Then she headed downstairs, and out the back door.

***

Ironhide saw her first. "Oh slag!" he said, and while Sarah didn't know the word, she was sure by the way he said it that it was a cussword.

"Now what?" Ratchet asked in exasperation, looking up. "Oh."

The three of them stared at each other; none of them quite sure what to say. Then Ratchet's eyes narrowed and he jabbed the tool in his hand at her.

"Will told you!" he said with conviction.

Sarah crossed her arms to hide her nervousness. "Kind of hard not to when there's giant robots wrestling in the yard," she said bravely.

"Mechs," Ratchet corrected, already focused back on his work. "If this stubborn glitch had just cooperated, you wouldn't have seen anything."

"Hey," Ironhide protested, and tried to sit up. "I told you it could wait."

Ratchet pushed him back down. "So you're a medic now, hm? Tell me," he said, hand darting into Ironhide's side, "what does this do?"

Sarah darted back several feet as Ironhide howled with laughter and tried to squirm away. "Ratchet! You slagger!"

"Wrong!" Ratchet said gleefully, and planted an elbow on Ironhide's chest and pinned him to the ground as he renewed his attack.

Sarah found herself laughing at them, and what little fear she had left dissipated.

Ironhide finally admitted defeat. "I give, I give!"

"Swear it!" Ratchet demanded.

"You're the medic and I'll never argue with you again!"

"Hah!" Ratchet released him and Ironhide sprawled across the ground in relief. Ratchet snagged on of the pieces of black armor he had set aside earlier, and began attaching it back to its proper place on the large black mech.

"Slagger," Ironhide said with gruff affection, then turned his full attention on her.

"The medic with no manners is Ratchet," he said, then grinned as Ratchet thumped his shoulder. "I'm Ironhide, Autobot Weapons Specialist." He stretched his right hand out towards her, palm up.

Sarah blankly looked at the hand for a few seconds before realizing what he wanted. She hesitantly placed her hand on his forefinger, awed by the sheer size of him, then grinned in amazement as he carefully shook her hand.

"I'm Sarah," she said. "Welcome to Earth."

At that exact moment, Annabelle decided to announce to the world that she was awake and wanted to be changed right now. Sarah sighed, but both Autobots looked towards the house.

"Is she malfunctioning?" Ratchet asked, concerned.

Sarah just grinned as Ironhide snorted and said, "The only thing malfunctioning are my audio sensors. Primus, human young are loud!"

"Not as loud as your cannons," Ratchet said.

"Hey!" Ironhide protested and Sarah shook her head and headed inside as the bickering continued. 'Old married couple,' she thought.

***

One thing led to another, and by the time she had Annabelle's morning routine taken care of, a truck was pulling into her driveway.

Sarah ran to the window to warn Ratchet and Ironhide, but the two hardly glanced at the truck that slowly came down the driveway. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the pickup. It was Epps; he had Fig in the front passenger seat and Will sentenced to the cramped extended cab.

Epps parked between the picnic tables and the fire pit to unload the large haul of party supplies. Will scrambled free from the backseat, carrying a folder with classified stamped across the front.

He immediately hugged her. "I'm so sorry about all this. They weren't supposed to show themselves unless it was an emergency."

Sarah gave a strained little laugh. "Well, it's definitely been an interesting week."

"Hey!" Fig yelled from the truck. "Someone get me my crutches so I can get outta here."

"Have a little patience man," Epps said, and dug through the stuff in the bed of the truck. He unearthed the crutches and helped Fig get out without jarring his bad leg.

"Forget patience! I want to see those beauties before he puts them away." Fig made a beeline for Ironhide. Epps followed right on his heels as soon as he realized what Fig was talking about.

Sarah stared. Ironhide and Ratchet were seated on the ground, now conducting repairs on two huge pieces of machinery on Ironhide's arms. As she watched, Ironhide partially collapsed one down into his arm, then brought it up again as Ratchet asked questions about how it was functioning.

"Will," Sarah asked, her eyes wide. "Are those cannons?"

"Yeah," Will said with a bit of gun lust. "You wouldn't believe some of the weaponry these guys have."

Sarah swallowed, suddenly realizing that she didn't just have aliens in her yard, she had alien soldiers.

"Come inside," Will said. "I've got paperwork for you."

***

Sarah sat at her kitchen table and read then signed several forms, feeling the absolutely surreal nature of the last few days hit her at last. Will sat across from her, fiddling with one of Annabelle's toys as he waited.

She signed the last page, thinking about several of the non-human names she had read. Optimus Prime. Megatron. Bumblebee. Starscream.

"My god, Will. How many of them are there?"

"On Earth? Eight Autobots and one known Decepticon in hiding. On their way?" Will shrugged. "Could be a few, could be thousands. Prime sent out a signal calling his people to earth. Their world is dying, and they're scattered across the galaxy. He hopes they'll find a new start here."

Sarah straightened the pile of paperwork and thought about the last week. "The government's not going to be able to hide them for long."

"No," Will agreed. "They're having a hell of a time trying to spin what happened at Mission City. People aren't really swallowing the top secret weapons testing gone wrong angle that we've been leaking to get public reaction. We've been real lucky that the Autobots have equipment that scrambles any recordings or photographs taken of them; but too many people saw what happened and we can't keep Mission City under lockdown for much longer. We can't shuffle this one under the rug."

Sarah abandoned the pile of paperwork and twisted the pen in her hands. "When are they going public?"

Will took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Monday. We've done what we can, it's now in the President's hands."

The pen dropped and rolled across the table, bumping into the salt shaker. "Well," Sarah finally said, mentally grabbing for something to say. "Now I understand why you guys didn't want to wait for a party. It could be months before things settle down again."

Will nodded and smiled. "All the more reason to party while we can."

Rolling her eyes, Sarah leaned back in her seat and studied her husband's face. "What else?" she finally asked. "I don't think you guys would have me fill out this much paperwork for something the world is going to find out about anyways."

"Yeah." Will nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "This wasn't my idea, but I'm good with it if you are."

Sarah just looked at him, waiting.

"Right now," he started slowly, "the Autobots are staying in a hanger we emptied at the base. But with the latest batch of arrivals, space is getting tight. They're too big to keep cooped up all day long. And we really can't turn all the hangers into a motel for Autobots either."

"Oh, I can see where this is going," Sarah interrupted. "Are you serious?"

"Hey, we've got the room. It would only be for a few, probably the injured. They need to lay in the sun, the solar energy their bodies make helps with repairs. And they'll be moving on as soon as the government figures out what land they want to give them."

Sarah took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I need to think about this," she finally said. "And I want to meet the ones that would be staying here first."

Will grinned impishly. "Shouldn't be a problem. They're all coming today."

Sarah's jaw dropped. "All of them?"

Will's grin widened.

***

They arrived a few minutes later, a convoy of vehicles that must have gotten second looks on the road. Two SUV's and a truck arrived first; Sarah recognized them as vehicles owned by some of Will's men. Several of the passengers, however, were new faces and Sarah was sure that a few of those were civilians. They pulled off the road and parked. Sarah, who was standing on the porch with Will, waived at them, but most of her attention was for the vehicles that followed.

A police cruiser led the way, followed by a blue and red semi pulling a flatbed trailer. The flatbed had two large, tarp covered, objects on it. Two cars of the same model brought up the rear; one was a striking yellow, the other a brilliant red. They all drove around the side of the house, heading to the picnic area where Ironhide and Ratchet were curiously watching the party preparations and asking questions.

"Are those Lamborghinis?" Sarah asked in awe.

Will laughed. "Yup." He wrapped an arm around her waist. "Let's go say hi."

***

The three smaller vehicles transformed immediately. The cop car's doors sat high on his shoulders like a small pair of wings. Sarah had half expected the two Lamborghinis to look the same, but she quickly realized they had many differences, though they were of a similar height and build.

All three turned to the semi. The yellow Lamborghini helped Ironhide unhook the flatbed while the other two and Ratchet began pulling off the tarps. There were two more Autobots on the flatbed, another yellow one with wings like the cop car, and a silver one that was the smallest mech she'd seen yet.

The semi pulled forward a few feet once it was free of the flatbed. Its doors gently swung open and two teenagers, a boy and a girl, climbed out. They both moved stiffly, the boy especially, like they were recovering from injuries.

"Hey Sam! Mikaela!" Will called out in greeting. He quickly introduced them to Sarah.

"Not taking your pain pills?" he asked them.

"No way," Sam said. "I want to be awake for this."

"Me too," Mikaela added. "This is one party I'm not going to miss."

"What happened?" Sarah asked, and almost wished she hadn't when they told her they had bruises and strained muscles from running around smack dab in the middle of the fight in Mission City.

A shadow fell over them and Sarah turned to look up at the tallest Autobot she'd seen yet.

The semi carefully kneeled before them. "Do not worry, Captain Lennox. Ratchet will see to it that they are taken care of."

Both teens made unhappy faces, but Sarah noticed that they both respected the big mech enough to not make an issue about it.

"Sarah," Will said with a big smile, "I would like to introduce you to Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

Optimus carefully touched her outstretched hand with one finger and made a small bow in greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lennox," he said. "Thank you for inviting us."

Sarah grinned at him. This one had manners. "The pleasure is all mine. And you can call me Sarah."

"Sarah, please allow me to apologize for my men. Ratchet and Ironhide were supposed to remain hidden until matters with your government were resolved and Will could introduce you."

She waived the apology away. "It's been a crazy couple of days, but I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Thank you," Optimus said sincerely, then turned to introduce her to the others.

***

The cop car, Prowl, was actually the Autobot second in command and their head tactician. He seemed quite serious, but there was a sly humor in his face and Jazz, the third in command, seemed quite happy to have Prowl sitting next to him on the flatbed. They were waiting for Ratchet to finish examining Bumblebee.

Optimus had introduced the three new mechs to her and apologized for the twins' absence. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, who were brothers of some sort, had already run off to track down some of Will's men and start a paintball game. Ironhide had followed them to "Keep the younglings in line." That sounded ominous to Sarah; she just hoped they stayed away from the house.

Jazz had given her a winning smile when Optimus introduced him. "Hello, pretty lady," he greeted, his voice playful seduction and interest.

"Hey!" Will warned good naturedly and pulled her closer. "The pretty lady is taken."

Jazz just grinned unrepentantly. "I'm taken too," he said, and reached for Prowl's hand, tugging him closer.

Sarah watched the two mechs with amusement and a tinge of sadness. She wondered if anyone had told the Autobots about humanity's wildly varying views of homosexuality, especially if they were going to be hanging around the military. Then she wondered if they were really as male as they seemed to be. For all she knew, they had no sexual orientation.

"Alright," Ratchet said, and ended his examination of Bumblebee's legs.

The smaller mech made a hopeful noise.

"Yes, you can use them," Ratchet started to say, then held up his hand to keep Bumblebee from standing up. "But," he stressed, "you can only walk. No running, jogging, jumping or transforming. Your systems need a few more days to integrate the welds."

Bumblebee nodded, and then said in a strained and static laden voice, "Thanks Ratchet." He carefully stood and headed towards the two teenagers, who Epps had slicing tomatoes for the burgers.

Ratchet turned his attention to Jazz. Sarah watched him poke, prod, and scan the mass of welds across the silver mech's chest.

"You-" Ratchet started.

"-are a mess," Jazz finished. "And I'm going to stay a mess until you get your hands on some supplies. Let it go for today, Ratchet. Please?"

Ratchet stared at him for a long moment, then sighed. "Scram. Before I change my mind."

Prowl carefully picked Jazz up and headed towards the crowd gathered around the picnic tables. Jazz quietly hung on, and Sarah was left with the impression that for all of his upbeat behavior, he was in very bad shape. She looked from Will, to Optimus, to Ratchet. "Is he going to be okay?"

Ratchet snorted. "As okay as any of us are."

"Ratchet," Optimus warned with fond exasperation.

"I call it like I see it. If you want a diplomat," Ratchet crossed his arms, "find another mech."

"But I have you," Optimus said simply. Sarah thought he looked very smug, like he was planning something. Beside her, Will coughed to cover a laugh. Ratchet caught on too.

"Slag no," he said.

"You disobeyed a direct order to remain hidden unless there was an emergency," Optimus said firmly. "Fixing some loose wiring in Ironhide is not an emergency. Since you've had two very long weeks repairing all of us, I'm willing to give you a choice. You spend a few weeks helping Prowl and me with diplomatic matters with the humans, or a year helping Sunstreaker repair and maintain his precious paint job."

Ratchet stared at Optimus, aghast. "That's not a choice, you fragger!" He stomped off, heading towards the trees where Ironhide and the other paintball players had last been seen.

"Dust off your diplomatic programming," Optimus called after him.

Sarah stared in disbelief as Ratchet flipped the finger at Optimus over his shoulder. Will just laughed out loud.

Optimus knelt to talk to them again. He caught sight of her expression and smiled. "Don't worry. It's not as bad as he's making it out to be. Before the war, Ratchet was one of Cybertron's most respected senators and an accomplished diplomat. He just gave me an opportunity to make him help without the usual avoidance and protests."

"He's going to make you pay," Will said.

Optimus's expression turned rueful. "Of that, I have no doubt."

Sarah just shook her head at the whole situation.

"Will," Optimus asked. "Have you had a chance to talk to Sarah about Ironhide's proposal?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Ironhide was the one who proposed having some of you stay here?"

"Yeah," Will answered before Optimus could. "Apparently, he likes it here. Says it's a good place to rest and heal."

"Oh," Sarah said, and thought about that for a second. "Could I give you an answer tomorrow?" she asked Optimus. "This would be a very big change and I'd like a chance to think about it."

"Of course," Optimus said, completely understanding. "Meanwhile, I believe we are missing out on the fun."

Sarah looked to the picnic tables where two grills were set up. Epps was throwing steaks on one grill while Fig leaned over Sam's shoulder and tried to take over the cooking of the hamburgers. Sam valiantly fended him off with a spatula. Will saw this as well and cursed as he jogged over to manage the chaos. Sarah's stomach growled and she realized that she had completely missed breakfast.

Optimus laughed. He gestured with his hand for her to go first.

Sarah led the way, wondering what else this day would have in store for her.

tbc

_There's one more long chapter coming, in which there are party antics and Sarah makes a decision. P.S. Party antic ideas are welcome._


	5. Chapter 5

_I'd like to apologize for the very long wait. Real life broadsided me in April and pretty much killed any time or desire to write. I've been working on this whenever I can grab a few minutes and the energy to do so. I want to think everyone for the kind, thoughtful and awesome reviews; they've kept me writing. I do have what may be bad news... there will be another chapter. There are several more party antics to come in the sixth chapter, and a talk between Ironhide and Sarah that I think is ultimately necessary to bring this story to a finish. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy._

***

Chapter 5

***

Sarah stayed true to her word and left the cooking to Will and his men. She did take pity on Will though, and distracted Fig by putting Annabelle in his arms and telling him he could baby-sit. This got him some ribbing from a couple of the guys, but a pretty lady named Maggie took a seat beside him to coo at Annabelle, and Fig looked pretty pleased with the situation.

Annabelle, however, was bewildered by all the new faces and began to fuss. Sarah moved to take her back, but a soft trilling sound caught the baby's attention. Sarah turned to look at the source.

Jazz, who was seated on the ground with Prowl, just grinned and made the sound again, then followed that with a few more sounds of different types. They were soft and gentle sounds, almost birdlike. Annabelle was absolutely enthralled by them, and twisted her body so she could stare at Jazz. Prowl indulgently shook his head, then added a trill or two of his own.

Seeing that Annabelle was distracted and in safe hands, Sarah wandered over to the grill where Will and Bobby were just about finished with the first batch of steaks and hamburgers.

"Hey, my lady," Will grinned. "What would you like?"

She shook her head. "I've got to put Annabelle down for a nap in a few minutes. Save a steak for me, okay?"

"Gotcha," Will said, and put a few more steaks on the grill.

Sarah watched him work, something quietly nagging in the back of her mind. Her eyes wandered from the grill to the ice-chests, to the tables loaded with food. Then her eyes wandered to Prowl and Jazz.

"Do the Autobots eat?" she asked, finally realizing what was bothering her.

For a second, Will blinked blankly at the question, but Epps laughed.

"Not like we do," Bobby answered as he flipped a burger. "They have a fuel called energon that they drink. Sideswipe said he'd make sure they were all taken care of."

Sarah sighed in relief. "That's good to know. I would have felt horrible if we had accidentally left them out."

The guys looked at her, amused and trying not to laugh. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of Autobots," Will wisely changed the subject, "would you find Optimus and ask him to let whoever's playing paintball know that the food will be ready soon?"

"Sure," Sarah said, and headed towards the front of the house where she had last seen the big Autobot. She found him down on one knee beside Bumblebee, who was standing and leaning against his leader's shoulder, using him as a support. Both of the mechs were watching Sam and Mikaela. The teenagers were busy with several buckets, a water hose and a large bag of balloons.

"This is fun?" Bumblebee asked as he picked up one of the buckets, peering closer at the water balloons inside.

"You'll see," Sam said, carefully tying off a balloon. "You can't have an outdoor party without a water balloon fight."

"Just keep it out of the house, please," Sarah said as she approached, remembering the mess from last time.

"We will," Mikaela promised while filling up another balloon. "Sam, how many of these are we making?"

"All of them."

Mikaela hefted the large gallon size bag of balloons. "No way."

As the two teens bickered over how many water balloons they were going to make, Sarah found herself watching Bumblebee. The large bucket was more like a small cup in his hands. He carefully picked a water balloon out and examined it. Sarah was amazed that his touch was gentle enough that he could handle the fragile balloon without breaking it. He examined it for a few seconds, glanced at Optimus, then a look that Sarah could only call mischievous crossed his face.

Mikaela's eyes widened as Bumblebee held the balloon over Sam's head. "I'm beginning to see what you mean about fun," he said. He dropped the balloon.

"Bee!" Sam screeched while Mikaela laughed. He lunged for the nearest bucket of water balloons.

Bumblebee turned to run away, but he didn't get far. Optimus quickly stood and grabbed the smaller mech, lifting him clean off the ground. Bumblebee squirmed and made a protesting sound.

"Careful," Optimus said calmly. "You're going to undo Ratchet's work, and he'll be after your servos."

Bumblebee went limp and uttered a few despairing, clicking sounds. Whatever they meant, they caused Optimus to laugh as he gently set Bumblebee on his feet.

"Sorry Bee," Sam ducked his head sheepishly. "Didn't mean to get you in trouble with Ratchet."

The yellow Autobot waved it off, clearly not bothered in the slightest. He played an audio clip of someone ringing a chuck wagon bell and yelling 'come and get it.'

"Come on, Sam," Mikaela said, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the picnic tables. "Bee's right. Let's get in line before the paintball players get back and we have to wait. We can finish later."

The young couple headed for the tables, Bee easily matching his pace with theirs.

Optimus knelt again to talk to her. Sarah had the fleeting thought that it must be incredibly awkward to talk to people so much smaller than you were.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Optimus asked gently.

Remembering her errand, Sarah relayed Will's request. Optimus nodded. "Of course," he said, looking towards the distance where she had last seen the players.

He suddenly looked amused. "Ironhide says they're on their way back already. Apparently the human team won."

Sarah's eyebrows rose. "Really? I was under the impression that you guys would have the advantage in a game like that."

"Perhaps, but I have found many humans to be delightfully adaptive to any challenge placed before them."

Optimus looked like he was about to say more, but at that moment, Sunstreaker stormed out of the woods. He was covered in a variety of paintball splotches of different colors. He had a group of bright blue ones on the center of his forehead, and a second group centered on his chest. Sarah had done enough shooting to know that groups like that on a moving target was the sign of an excellent marksman.

Sunstreaker stomped towards them and Sarah began to wonder if she needed to leave. Optimus, however, remained kneeling and showed little concern over his unhappy soldier. Sarah moved closer to Optimus, figuring she could hide behind the Autobot leader if she need to.

Sunstreaker stopped in front of them, glaring down at Optimus. Sarah would have almost called his expression threatening, except for the fact that he had stopped a respectful distance from the Prime, careful not to loom over his leader.

"You ticked off Ratchet," Sunstreaker accused bluntly.

"So it would seem," Optimus said mildly, looking like he was trying not to laugh.

Sunstreaker's eyes narrowed. "Let me rephrase that. You ticked off Ratchet, _the Hatchet_, then turned him loose to use us for target practice!"

Laughing out loud, Optimus stood up. "He sided with the humans?"

"What do you think?" Sunstreaker grumped, finally abandoning his indignation as he scratched at the blue paint on his chest. "The slagger should have been a sniper. And this paint itches."

Deciding that it was safe to move away from Optimus, Sarah picked up the water hose and turned it to a harsh spray.

"Here," she said, offering the hose to Sunstreaker. "Wash that off before it dries on you."

He quickly reached for the hose and Sarah flinched, fighting the urge to duck at the large hand headed towards her. Something that big shouldn't move that fast.

Sunstreaker paused, realizing that he had frightened her. "Sorry," he said gruffly, then reached for the hose again, this time making sure to keep his movements slow.

Sarah carefully handed it over; the hose looked absurdly tiny in his grasp. That didn't seem to bother Sunstreaker in the slightest, who happily started scrubbing away at the paint.

"Hey! Sunny! Share the water!" Sideswipe stepped free of the woods and headed towards them, his body bearing the same blue paint groupings. Ratchet and Ironhide followed behind him. Ironhide was in truck form, his bed filled with happy, mud and paint splattered soldiers. Sarah imagined the lot of them trampling through her house to clean up and quickly hurried off to get some soap and old towels. They could wash up outside with the mechs.

***

After seeing to the paintball players, Sarah put Annabelle down for a nap in the playpen she had put under a popup awning that morning. Thankfully, she had already dozed off and Sarah didn't have a fussy baby on her hands.

She loaded her plate at the food tables, and then took a seat at the picnic table closest to Annabelle. The table was empty as most of the people were still making their way around the food tables, but Sarah didn't mind that. She wanted a few minutes to think, and to just sit back and watch the Autobots interact with each other and the people around them.

They were remarkably human in their gestures: a shake or nod of the head, Ironhide shrugging his shoulders to a question, or Ratchet pointing a finger in warning. At one point, Optimus even bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as if fighting a headache.

But then there were differences, movements that a human just couldn't do. Differences like the way Bumblebee's doors drooped when Ratchet scolded him for being on his feet too long, or the way Prowl's armor lifted and flared in warning like a dog's hackles when Sideswipe bumped Jazz too hard.

Sarah still couldn't get over the sheer size of them. They towered above the humans, each weighing thousands of pounds, yet none of the humans seemed to be too worried about getting stepped on. The mechs were so graceful; none of them moved like-well, robots. And all the humans present seemed to genuinely like them.

She tried to imagine having them around for weeks, months or even years. Annabelle could grow up personally knowing the aliens whose existence was going to be announced to the world on Monday. God, what were they getting their daughter into? She could become the target of some fanatic, or just as bad, become a celebrity. Sarah was under no illusions that all of humanity would react to the existence of the Autobots with tolerance and understanding. Humanity would erupt with pro-alien and pro-human groups faster than she could blink. It could become very ugly.

Preoccupied with her darkening thoughts, Sarah didn't notice Mikaela until the teenager sat down in front of her.

"Sam's getting seconds," Mikaela said. She took a closer look at Sarah's expression and frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked as she put her half finished plate and soda down.

Sarah was about to tell her 'nothing,' but suddenly realized she'd be passing up an opportunity to get an honest response to some of her questions. Mikaela seemed to be the kind of person to tell her like she saw it.

"Just thinking," Sarah said slowly, "about how my daughter is going to grow up in a world where aliens are a fact of life and not just sci-fi characters."

"Huh," Mikaela said thoughtfully and picked up her hamburger. "Kind of like how men walking on the moon is just a fact of life for me, but my grandmother remembers when the idea was, as she says, hogwash."

"Exactly!"

Mikaela looked at her, tilting her head in consideration as she took a bite out of her hamburger. "What's really bothering you?"

Sarah hesitated and looked down at her plate, strangely feeling just a bit of shame. "It's one thing for my daughter to know that aliens exist," she said quietly and carefully, aware that the mechs might be able to hear her, "it's a whole other issue for her to know them personally. The way people would treat her...she wouldn't be...normal."

Frowning, Mikaela polished off the last of her hamburger without saying anything. Sarah began to think she'd made a mistake in talking to the teenager and that she should have kept her mouth shut and talked to Will instead.

"Normality is overrated," Mikaela said suddenly, looking her directly in the eye. "A few weeks ago, I was very good at being 'normal'. I was the pretty girl dating the quarterback, and popular enough to hang out with the rich kids. I went to the same school -_the same classes_- as Sam for years and didn't even know his name. I spent everyday hiding the fact that my aunt lives on welfare, my dad is in jail, and my mom is God knows where. I know enough about cars to intimidate nearly every man I know and I hid it. That's normal."

"And now," Mikaela smiled, her whole face lighting up, "I'm dating Sam, who makes me laugh and feel good about myself. Bumblebee and Prowl are helping me start my own automotive business – do you know how many time I've been told that I can't do that because I'm a girl?- and Ratchet is giving me a crash course in Cybertronian medicine. Optimus, who is the leader of _their entire race_, lets me poke around his insides to study their basic functions while we chat. I get up everyday eager to see what's next and am nothing but myself."

Mikaela shrugged. "So, is it normal? Maybe not. Am I going to have to deal with people being stupid about the Autobots? Probably. But fifty years from now, I will never look back and regret that I got in Bumblebee with Sam."

Sarah found herself smiling at the teenager's fierce defense of the Autobots. She definitely had some good points and Sarah knew she'd have to do some more thinking and talk with Will. It appeared Annabelle could gain more than she'd lose by knowing the Autobots personally.

"They sound like they're good people," Sarah said.

"Some of the best," Mikaela said firmly.

"Who's good people?" Sam asked, sitting down beside Mikaela with a plate loaded with food. He also had a small bucket with several water balloons, which he sat on the table.

"Autobots," Mikaela grinned, stealing some of his chips.

"Hey! Get your own," Sam protested, but nudged his plate closer to Mikaela so she could pick what she wanted. He then held out a water balloon to Sarah. "Here. You're going to need this."

"What for?" Sarah stared at the balloons in her hands in confusion, then shrieked as a water balloon caught her in the back of her head. She spun around in her seat. Will grinned and darted for cover behind Ironhide's leg.

"William!" She yelled as she stood up, and several people and mechs laughed.

"Oh, no you don't Lennox," Ironhide said, twisting to look down at her husband. "I'll save your aft from Decepticons, but you're on your own with your own sparkmate." He stepped aside; leaving Will out in the open.

"Some friend you are!" Will yelled and ran, grinning wildly.

Sarah grinned, grabbed a few more balloons from Sam's bucket, and ran after her husband. Chaos descended on the party as humans pelted each other with water balloons and Autobots alternated between serving as human cover for some and suddenly leaving others out in the open.

tbc


End file.
